Rating position

For six and a half years I worked at Realms of Fantasy Magazine. I started as the Assistant Editor and eventually worked my way up to Editor. In the magazine's 17th and final year of publication (2011), we published our 100th issue, won a Nebula Award while being nominated for a second one, and we won the Silver Award in the Editorial section in Spectrum 18: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art.

More recently, I made the leap into anthologies. Along with John Joseph Adams, I am the coeditor of OZ REIMAGINED: NEW TALES FROM THE EMERALD CITY AND BEYOND, published by 47North. On November 1st, 2016 my second foray into anthologies will be coming out, in the form of WHAT THE #@&% IS THAT?, a horror anthology from Saga Press. I am also the author of REALMS OF FANTASY: A RETROSPECTIVE, a nonfiction book comprising my blog entires on each and every issue of Realms of Fantasy during its seventeen years of publication.

My fiction has appeared in Interzone Magazine, Space and Time, and the Fantastic Stories of the Imagination anthology. I also have four stories forthcoming in Weird Tales.

When I started this LiveJournal, most of its traffic came from fiction writers who were interested in my work at RoF, particularly my work in the fiction department. One of my responsibilities with RoF was finding publishable manuscripts among the general submissions we were regularly inundated with. Those authors whose stories go on to publication are called "slush survivors." I had something of a knack for finding newer writers, as in my time with the magazine I discovered enough slush survivors to fill up almost a whole year of the magazine. Here is a summary of what I found:

1. Karen Abrahamson--"Lady of Ashuelot"--Arthuriana--Karen's tale was the very first piece of slush I plucked from the piles. Thanks to Karen for getting me off to a great start--April 2006

2. A.C. Wise--"Robin of the Green"--Robin Hood Fantasy--June 2006*Tom Kidd's accompanying artwork was selected for inclusion in the Editorial section in Spectrum 14

3. **Ken Scholes--"Of Metal Men and Scarlet Thread and Dancing With the Sunrise"--Science Fantasy--August 2006*Locus Recommended Reading List 2006**Honorable Mention in YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION: 24TH ANNUAL COLLECTION, edited by Gardner Dozois***Ken's novels, LAMENTATION, CANTICLE, ANTIPHON, and REQUIEM, set in the same world as "Of Metal Men," have been published by Tor Books. The fifth and concluding volume in the series is forthcoming.****Allen Douglas' accompanying illustration was selected for inclusion in the Editorial section of SPECTRUM 14

7. Sarah Totton--"A Fish Story"--Funny Fantasy--I worked with Sarah on a revision before we passed this story up the editorial ladder--October 2006*Reprinted in FANTASY: BEST OF THE YEAR 2007 from Prime Books, edited by Rich Horton**Honorable Mention in YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION: 24TH ANNUAL COLLECTION, edited by Gardner Dozois

12. David Pinault--"Afghan Buddha Payback"--Contemporary Fantasy--David marks the first author I've fished out of the slush with no fiction credits whatsoever. My first discovery if you will--June 2007

13. Elizabeth Glover--"MetaPhysics"--Funny Fantasy--Elizabeth and I were friends before she ever submitted to the magazine, at least while I've been working here. Not that I made things easy on her. "Tweak the ending if you want me to pass this along," I told her. She tweaked. The result? Elizabeth now has her first sale--August 2007*Honorable Mention in YEAR'S BEST FANTASY & HORROR: 21st ANNUAL COLLECTION, edited by Ellen Datlow and Gavin Grant & Kelly Link**Reprinted in SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL, edited by Tim Pratt

14. *Von Carr--"The White Isle"--High Fantasy--Von and I worked on some light revisions before passing this one up the editorial ladder--December 2007*Honorable Mention in YEAR'S BEST FANTASY & HORROR: 21st ANNUAL COLLECTION, edited by Ellen Datlow and Gavin Grant & Kelly Link**Stephanie Pui-Mun Law's accompanying artwork was nominated for a 2008 Chesley Award for Interior Illustration

21. Ben Francisco--"Tio Gilberto and the Twenty-Seven Ghosts"--Ghost Story--This was my first slush survivor I got to handle the art direction for--October 2009*Available as a podcast on the PodCastle website**Selected for inclusion for Wilde Stories 2010: The Best of the Year's Gay Speculative Fiction, edited by Steve Berman***A selection of the io9 short story reading club****Honorable mention in YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION, TWENTY-SEVENTH COLLECTION, edited by Gardner Dozois

22. S.E. Ward--"Nell and the Devil"--Dark Fairy Tale--October 2009*Honorable Mention in BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR, VOLUME TWO, edited by Ellen Datlow

26. T.L. Morganfield--"The Hearts of Men"--Sword & Sixguns--1st pro sale--T.L. and I worked on a rewrite before passing this one up the editorial ladder--June 2010*Honorable Mention in YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION, TWENTY-EIGHTH COLLECTION, edited by Gardner Dozois

33. Elizabeth Bourne--"Beasts"--Fairy Tale--Fairy Tale--I discovered this story back when the magazine was still in business, but RoF reached its end before it could be published. The good news is this story found a home, in Interzone # 240.

34. Lee Moan--"The Transmuted Engine"--Dark Fantasy--Lee and I worked on a light revision before passing this one up the editorial ladder--1st pro sale--As with "Beasts," I discovered this one back when the mag was still around, but RoF reached its end before this piece could be published.